Bangladesh: Hospital owner arrested in connection to fake COVID-19 tests scam

In Bangladesh, a hospital owner accused of issuing thousands of fake COVID-19 negative tests to patients has been detained by the police on charges of fraud.

As per Bangladesh police, on receiving reports about the alleged $350,000 scam, Mohammad Shahed was caught and arrested as he tried to flee to India. The 42-year-old is one of the dozens detained in what could be the largest medical scams that has raised questions over the authenticity of the healthcare services in Bangladesh, as per the reports.  

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Dire medical situation

According to reports, Shahed was arrested after a nine-day manhunt and is accused of issuing fake certificates from his two clinics without even testing the patients. False documents have been reportedly retrieved from his clinic by the police and the discovery seems to have worsened an already dire medical situation.

Rapid Action Battalion Spokesman Colonel, Ashique Billah, was quoted saying that the hospital owner was arrested from the bank of a border river as he was trying to flee to India. He is said to have been wearing a burqa. Further, he added, Shahed’s hospitals carried out 10,500 coronavirus tests, out of which 4,200 were genuine and the rest 6,300 test reports were given without conducting tests. 

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A renowned doctor in Dhaka, along with his wife, was also arrested for issuing fake certificates printed out of the Dhaka laboratory. Moreover, Shahed held an agreement with the government to treat COVID-19 patients for free at his clinics but has been accused of charging massive fees for preparing unauthentic reports.

A member of the migrant rights group OKUP, Shakirul Islam, was quoted saying that the scam would prove to be detrimental for the migrant workers seeking to go abroad for opportunities in the future.  

Italy cancels Bangladesh to Rome flight

Only last week, Italy cancelled flights operating from Bangladesh to Rome over fears of COVID-19 outbreak as several passengers arriving from Bangladesh tested positive at the airport. The authorities also conducted a “blanket testing” fearing the COVID-19 infections among all Bangladeshi immigrant community.

Shakirul Islam told international media that some of the Bangladeshis who were tested positive in Italy were allegedly carrying negative COVID-19 certificates from Bangladesh while speaking at the press conference. He insisted that the government should ensure COVID-19 tests were done authentically in local laboratories for the sake of the overseas job market. 

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